With the country fast approaching towards water scarcity, unchecked population growth and everyday rising demand of water for agricultural and human use can land the country in serious trouble during years ahead.
The long history of neglecting this sector had resulted in decline of per capita water availability of 5600 cubic meter in 1947 to around 1000 cubic meter presently ringing the alarm bells for experts and the policy makers. Rampant wastage of water during these decades, non-construction of any big project till early 2000s – after Tarbela and Mangla dams – and the challenging phenomenon of climate change had further aggravated the situation. Our water resource is also under immense pressure due to agricultural expansion, urbanization and industrialization and if this trend persists, it may pose serious water availability and food security challenges. With the country’s population figures also hovering around 240 million, the coming years would be crucial to save each drop precipitation to make our agricultural and industrial sectors grow and feed this bulk of population. As almost 80 percent rainfall occurs during monsoon, the storage of rainwater and use of modern and efficient water usage techniques can be vital to address water and food security issues in the country. We are at the climate crossroads. On one side we face water sacristy and on the other droughts and floods, remarked Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Chairman Muhammad Ashraf.
These phenomena water scarcity and severe flooding urgently require nature based solutions for water storage and conservation especially through rainwater harvesting to meet our future water needs, he said. Then there is also need for controlling water wastage and ensure its proper storage for agriculture and human use, PCRWR Chairman said. Talking of global rainwater harvesting techniques, he said, such a water collecting system and storage mechanism can be both simple and inexpensive and complex and costly. This technique may consist of simple rain barrels or more elaborate structures with pumps, tanks, and purification systems. He said the technologies to collect and store rainwater vary from region to region. Therefore, keeping within our available resources, we need to research on easier and inexpensive modes of water conservation. Besides water table recharge, the non-portable rainwater can also be used irrigate agricultural land, flush toilets, car wash, launder clothes and even for drinking if properly purified. Many countries already exploit techniques of artificial groundwater recharge through rainwater harvesting and storage of flowing water in underground tanks. In recent years this technique has emerged as an effective nature-based solution to tackle serious challenges of water scarcity, rapid decline in water table and avert urban flooding that displaces people and cause damage to their properties and livelihood. Water and Sanitation Agency Managing Director Ghufran Ahmad mentions to three such projects in Lahore where the rainwater is stored to meet the needs of local people. We have established three rainwater harvesting sites at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lawrence Road, Sheranwala Gate and Kashmir road with a storage capacity of 1.4 million gallon and 1.5 and 1.5 million gallons capacity respectively, Ghufran Ahmed said.
